Teen Fortnite champion 'swatted' during livestream

SWAT team entered his house with guns

By Leah Asmelash, CNN

Posted: 2:25 PM, August 13, 2019Updated: 2:25 PM, August 13, 2019

Epic Games via CNN

Beating out other pros and famous streamers, Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf, 16, made a name for himself by dominating from the first round and ultimately taking home the $3 million grand prize for individual players.

But on Saturday, the 16-year-old became a victim of an increasingly popular form of attack. Kyle was in the middle of livestreaming a round of "Fortnite" on the video platform Twitch when he suddenly left the screen. Fellow gamers were concerned and confused until Kyle's voice came from off-camera.

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Swatting is a potentially deadly prank in which someone calls the police and tells them that an urgent and violent crime has occurred at their target's location. The idea is to lure a SWAT team or other response team to the person's house.

Authorities have come down hard on this type of activity because it can have very real consequences. One man was fatally shot by police at his home in 2017 after such an incident. The man who made the hoax call was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison.

No federal anti-swatting laws exist, but charges like wire fraud or obstruction of justice can typically be applied. In April, a 17-year-old was charged with 40 felony and 33 misdemeanor delinquency charges in Ohio after making a number of prank swatting calls.